Softball Game Preview: Pace Patriots vs. Milton Panthers

Pace is a perfect 10-0 against Milton since April of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Wednesday. The Patriots will host the Panthers at 6:30 p.m. Pace is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.7 runs per game this season.

Pace is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Florida's top teams: Jay, who was ranked 16th at the time (Pace was ranked fourth). The Patriots narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the Royals 3-1. Three seems to be a good number for the Patriots as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Hannah DeMarcus

Batters Struck Out

04/21/25 @ Jay	24
04/17/25 @ Tate	16
04/15/25 vs Niceville	16
04/11/25 @ Crestview	14
04/08/25 vs South Warren	17
+ 13 more games

Jay's batters probably weren't too happy with Hannah DeMarcus, who pitched a no hitter and racked up 24 Ks (she gave up five walks). DeMarcus has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than ten strikeouts in 18 consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Pace saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Emma Hicks, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Meanwhile, Milton entered their tilt with Pine Forest on Monday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They never let the Eagles get on the board and left with a 15-0 win.

The team relied heavily on Alexis Hawthorne, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with five RBI and two runs. That's the most hits she has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Adrienne Yoder, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.

Milton always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .568. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pine Forest only posted an OBP of .062.

Pace's victory was their 12th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 17-3. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Milton, their victory bumped their record up to 13-10.

Everything went Pace's way against Milton in their previous meeting on April 4th, as Pace made off with an 8-0 win. Will the Patriots repeat their success, or do the Panthers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.